Proposed fireworks store sparks objections in Royal Oak

The city’s Planning Commission is scheduled to review a request from a fireworks company that wants to open a fireworks store at Campbell and East Lincoln.

Mayor Jim Ellison and other elected officials are none too happy about the request but say there is little they can do to stop it under the state’s permissive fireworks law that went into effect a couple years ago.

“The state basically tied our hands when they made it easier to sell fireworks and took all control from local government,” Ellison said.

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The proposed location is near residential neighborhoods, across the street from the city’s VFW Park, and not far from the Jack and Patti Salter Community Center.

“I don’t blame the neighbors for being upset,” Ellison said. “They will have a building full of explosives next to a residential neighborhood.”

Still, the Michigan Fireworks Safety Act passed a few years ago allowed for the sale of more powerful fireworks that leave the ground and loosened the rules on sales. The act also prohibits cities from enacting ordinances that regulate the sale, display, storage and distribution of fireworks.

The Royal Oak City Commission is expected to pass a resolution Monday urging the state to consider repealing the Fireworks Safety Act.

State Rep. Harold Haugh (D-Roseville) led the effort that legalized louder, more powerful fireworks in Michigan. Haugh said at the time that state residents were buying more powerful fireworks in other nearby states like Ohio and the state was losing out on revenue.

But following a deluge of complaints statewide two years ago, Haugh added an amendment to the law that limits fireworks use to the day before, during and after a national holiday. That amendment went into effect last year, but elected leaders in the area said the amendment did little to quell the annoyance of explosive sounds throughout the summer.

Ferndale Mayor Dave Coulter in 2012 joined with about 10 mayors from throughout south Oakland County and sent a letter to Haugh. The mayors said the new state fireworks law threatened the safety and quality of life in their communities.

The company seeking to open the store in Royal Oak is called Firework Factory.

The Planning Commission meets at 7:30 p.m. tonight to review site plan approval for the proposed store. As much as Ellison said he would like to reject the proposal, the company could turn around and sue the city, probably win and open anyway.